Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the chocolate in a small heatproofbowl. Add 3 tablespoons of hot water and set the bowl over a panof hot but not simmering water. Stir with a whisk until thechocolate is melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the waterand let the chocolate cool to room temperature.

Coarsely chop the pecan pieces in a food processor. Remove 1/2cup of the pecans and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar tothe remaining nuts and grind to a fine powder. Combine the finelyground pecans, bread crumbs and cinnamon in a bowl; mix well andset the mixture aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter with half the remainingsugar until soft and light. Beat in the cooled chocolate and thenthe bourbon. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating untilsmooth. Stir in the pecan bread crumb mixture.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until they formvery soft peaks. Gradually beat in the remaining sugar in a slowstream and continue beating until the egg whites hold soft peaks.Stir one-fourth of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate batter,then gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour the batter into a buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish or 8 inchsquare baking pan. Smooth the top. Scatter the reserved choppedpecans evenly over the surface of the batter. Place the bakingdish in a larger pan and pour hot tap water into the larger pan toreach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake the puddingin the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the puddingpuffs and feels slightly firm when pressed with the palm of thehand; do not overbake.

In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the milk and sugar.Bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl until liquified. When the milkboils, gradually whisk 1/3 of it into the yolks. Return theremaining milk to a boil over low heat and whisk in the yolk mixture.Cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens, 1 to 1 1/2minutes; do not let boil. Immediately remove from the heat.

Whisk the sauce constantly for 1 minute to cool. Strain througha fine sieve into a bowl and whisk for 30 seconds. Stir in thebourbon and the vanilla. Serve warm.